Cold As Ice
by Angel-Sue76
Summary: Alan is injured on a rescue and his condition rapidly worsens. Can his brothers find him and get him out of the bad weather in time.


**Cold As Ice.**

_**Disclaimer: Much as I might hope that the Thunderbirds belong to me, they don't. I am just borrowing them for the purpose of a story.**_

_**This is my first story on here and I do hope you all like it. It's just a one shot to see what you guys all think. I hope that it will go down well. I am dedicating this to my twin brother Kit as without him, I wouldn't be alive to write this little tale so this is for you bro.**_

_**Alan is injured on a rescue and his condition rapidly worsens. Can his brothers find him and get him out of the bad weather in time.**_

* * *

Alan opened his eyes wincing as the action sent pain coursing through his skull. He had no idea how he got the headache or for that matter, where he actually was. He tried to remember how he had ended up in this situation but his mind was blank. Moving his head slightly, he caught sight of the familiar blue of his uniform and knew he must have been on a rescue but how did he hit his head. As the pain in his head began to recede slightly, he then noticed just how cold and wet he was. In fact, every part of him seemed wet.

Slowly, he pulled himself into a sitting position so he could study his surroundings better. He appeared to be in a forest of some sort and clearly alone. Rain was pouring down on top of him, which explained why he was so cold and wet. His brothers must be panicking about him by now and he needed to find them. As if reading his thoughts, his watch began to vibrate.

He slowly lifted his arm up and pressed the relevant buttons to activate the screen. "Go ahead," he said wearily. It was a little surprising just how much the small action exhausted him.

"Alan, thank God. Where are you? You have been out of radio contact for over thirty minutes," replied Scott. His voice sounded stressed and angry but Alan could now hear the relief seeping in.

"Good question," he muttered.

"What?" questioned Scott.

Sensing the growing frustration in his older brother, Alan spoke quickly. "I'm not totally sure, where I am," he admitted.

Virgil then appeared on the screen. Judging by the indignant muttering in the background, he had clearly shoved Scott out of the way. "Are you okay, Alan? You're not hurt are you?" he asked.

Alan was tempted to lie and say he was fine but he knew Virgil would see right through him. He always did whenever one of them was hurt or ill so he replied honestly, "My head hurts and I'm pretty wet."

A hint of concern crossed Virgil's face. "Do you remember how you hit your head?" he asked.

"Nope, everything is a little blank," he replied, rubbing his temples. His head now felt like someone was hitting it with a sledgehammer.

Virgil glanced off screen to confer with Scott, and Alan took the opportunity to shuffle back slightly so he was resting against a tree. It was then he realized just how much he was shivering. He felt as if he had been out here for hours but according to Scott, it had only been half an hour. He really wished he could remember how he got here.

Scott meanwhile had been using the signal from Alan's watch to try to locate him. They were on a rescue in England searching for some cavers that had been lost. All had been found except one. His friends claimed that he had been freaked out and just ran. Alan had come out with one of the local rescue team when he heard a noise in the forest and went off to investigate. The person had sounded like they were in trouble. That was the last they had heard of Alan. Having now rescued the other cavers, Gordon had gone off to see if he could find his brother. Scott had located Alan now and was just reading off the co-ordinates to Gordon.

"FAB, Scott. I'm not far from that point so shouldn't take me too long to find him," replied Gordon.

"Hey Gords, keep an eye on Al. He hit his head at some point and may be suffering from concussion," said Virgil.

"I will, I bet he's pretty wet too. This rain is really coming down and the trees don't seem to offer a lot of protection," replied Gordon, wrapping his waterproof coat tighter around him. The wind howled through the trees, allowing more rain to reach Gordon.

"Yeah he is, so look out for signs of hypothermia too."

"FAB," replied Gordon signing off. He quickened his pace slightly, hoping that his brother wouldn't be suffering from the effects of hypothermia yet. He had only been missing for about forty minutes but then it was winter here and the rain had been really coming down.

He finally spotted his brother in the distance and released a sigh of relief. His only younger brother sat up against a tree and even from this distance, Gordon could see just how violently he was shaking.

He raced over and dropped down onto the floor in front of Alan. "Not usually a good idea to nap outside whilst it's raining, bro," said Gordon, lightly.

"Funny," replied Alan. He was so relieved to see Gordon in front of him and know he would soon be back in the warmth of Thunderbird 2.

"Are you okay to walk?" asked Gordon. Apart from the large bump to his head, his brother seemed okay.

"Yeah, I think so," replied Alan. He then slowly pulled himself to a standing position.

Gordon couldn't help but feel worried by the slow and sluggish movements of his brother, his shivering seemed even more violent now too. He knew that some of this could be linked to the head injury but it was more likely to be the on-set of Hypothermia. He tried to think back to his training on Hypothermia. There were stages to it based on the temperature drop of the body. Alan appeared to be between stage one and two. He needed to get him out of here and fast. The walk back to Thunderbird 2 would take at least twenty minutes maybe longer given the slower pace. He raised his watch and activated the radio.

"Gordon to Mobile Control, come in please?"

Scott's face appeared on the screen. "Go ahead, Bro."

"I've found Alan and we are now on our way back to you guys," he replied, slinging his arm around his brother and guiding him forward.

"How is he?" asked Scott.

"His head injury isn't too serious but he is definitely showing signs of Hypothermia."

"What sort of signs?" asked Virgil, appearing beside Scott.

"Violent shivering, some confusion, his movements are slow and laboured. I would guess he is in stage 2," replied Gordon, fighting back his worry. Throughout the conversation, Alan had stayed silent and didn't really appear to be listening. Normally he would be telling them to stop talking about him so it wasn't a good sign.

Nodding his head Virgil replied, "Get back here as quick as you can, Gords and try to keep him talking. Do you remember the signs for Stage 3?"

Gordon thought for a moment and fear appeared in his green eyes. "Yeah I do, I just hope I don't see them."

"I'm now going to get Thunderbird 2 ready but call me if you need me," said Virgil and Gordon nodded.

"You want any help, Gordon?" asked Scott.

"No I can handle it. We'll be nearly out by the time you find us and we don't want to run the risk of losing anyone else," he replied, unconsciously pulling Alan closer to him.

"Okay, bro. Be careful," replied Scott and he ended the communication.

Scott then jogged after Virgil, drawing level as he reached Thunderbird 2. "Has Alan really been out in the cold long enough to get Hypothermia?" he asked as they moved into the pod and made their way to the sickbay.

"It depends on the circumstances generally. If say it had been one of the cavers or the other rescue crew then they would probably be in a better condition then Alan as they are more used to the colder temperatures. Whereas we live in a warmer climate so the coldness affects us quicker," Virgil paused for a moment and Scott nodded in understanding. "Then we have to take in the fact that Alan hit his head and was unconscious for a period of time. He wouldn't have been able to take any precautions to keep warm and dry. The rain has been falling constantly since we arrived and the temperature has dropped another couple of degrees too," he continued, seeing the stress deepen in Scott's eyes.

"Okay so what's the treatment? My knowledge of Hypothermia is a bit limited," replied Scott. He could remember covering it in his First Aid training but that was some time ago.

Virgil continued gathering the various medical equipment he would need as he responded. "Depends on how severe it is. I won't be able to tell for sure until I check him over but the main thing is getting him warm again and checking his head injury."

"I'm going to head back out and watch for Gordon. I had better call Dad too," said Scott with a sigh. That was one call he was definitely not looking forward to making.

"Good luck with that," said Virgil.

Gordon and Alan were making a slow process through the trees. Alan was struggling with walking now and had stumbled many times along the way. Gordon knew this was a sign that the Hypothermia was getting worse and he prayed for the gap leading to where his brothers were waiting. He was beginning to feel cold himself now, the rain felt like ice and he couldn't even begin to imagine how it felt to Alan's already frozen body.

Suddenly Gordon saw the sight he had been praying for. Just ahead of him, he could see Thunderbird 2 looking more welcoming then she had ever done before. He turned to Alan with a faint grin on his face. "I promise not to tease Virge about Thunderbird 2 for at least a week."

"Thunderbird 2?" slurred Alan. His mind felt all jumbled and he couldn't seem to concentrate on anything. All he wanted to do was curl up in a ball somewhere warm.

Alan not knowing what Thunderbird 2 was had initially surprised Gordon but he then remembered that it was possible to suffer some memory loss. "Don't worry Al, you will soon remember what she is," he replied reassuringly. It was then he noticed something that made his blood run cold. Alan had stopped shivering!

Glancing desperately ahead, he was relieved to see Scott approaching them. Alan was leaning more heavily on him now and Gordon knew he couldn't keep him upright for much longer. Scott reached them and instantly wrapped his arm around the other side of Alan, taking some of the strain from Gordon.

"We'll soon have you nice and warm Allie," he said as they continued walking. Alan made no response or showed any sign that he had heard his older brother's voice.

Scott had been shocked by just how pale his baby brother was and he could see clearly the blue tinges to his face.

As they arrived at Thunderbird 2, Alan lost his fight with consciousness. The blackness was too welcoming to him and it felt warmer then being awake.

"Alan?" called Scott as his brother went limp in his arms but he got no response. Pulling him back up again, they quickened their pace to get him to Virgil.

Virgil didn't seem as shocked to see Alan unconscious as they were. "Get him onto the bed and then we need to get these wet clothes off. Gordon can you grab me some of the spare clothes in the cupboard please," he ordered taking charge.

As soon as Alan was on the bed, Gordon went off to get the spare clothes. They soon had Alan dried off and dressed again but he had shown no sign of waking up. Virgil placed a thermometer in his brother's ear and waited for the beep. Removing the device, he studied the result and sighed.

"How bad is it?" asked Gordon, looking up at his brother.

"31.6," replied Virgil and he placed another blanket over his baby brother.

Gordon swore and even Scott didn't have the heart to reprimand him as the same word had been on the tip of his tongue too. Virgil hooked up some fluids and then quickly set up an I.V in his brother's arm. His eyes kept glancing at the monitors above him. Alan's heart rate had slowed drastically and wouldn't rise until he began to warm up. The only thing Virgil could hope for was that his heart wouldn't stop completely.

Scott had felt his worry ease slightly as Virgil began stabilizing Alan. There was something calming about the way his younger brother worked. That was until Virgil spoke again.

"Gordon I want you to fly Thunderbird 2 back so I can stay with Alan. I need to monitor him closely in case his heart stops."

It was no secret that Virgil hated anyone else flying his bird and the fact that he had freely given up the reigns indicated just how bad things truly were. Gordon nodded at him and made his way to the door. The worry was evident in his green eyes and it caused Virgil to call out to him.

"Any damage to her, bro and you're dead." He instantly saw a faint grin cross Gordon's face and it was exactly what he wanted to see. Scott followed his younger brother out and then headed off to Thunderbird 1.

Virgil walked back over to his youngest brother and checked the monitors once more. Everything was as he expected it to be. It was going to be a slow process, as Alan needed to be warmed up slowly. Now he was hoping that the warm fluids being given intravenously would be enough. He also had the head injury to consider too. It didn't seem as serious as he had first thought but the Hypothermia could mask the severity of the injury. Once they were back at base, he could carry out some more tests but this was going to seem like the longest flight ever for him.

After what had seemed like forever to Gordon, they had arrived back at base and had just got Alan set up in the Sickbay. Virgil was now explaining to their Father how Alan was.

"The warmed fluids are beginning to work now so hopefully we won't have to try anything more drastic," explained Virgil, still keeping one eye on the monitors above Alan.

"Like what?" asked Scott, who was stood on the other side of the bed, beside Jeff.

"Well, there is a procedure that involves removing the blood from Alan, warming it up and then returning it," replied Virgil. Scott and Gordon both looked horrified at the thought of that.

Jeff nodded in understanding. "It's a similar process to Kidney Dialysis isn't it?" he queried, remembering something similar being done to his own Father when he was alive. Sadly, Grant Tracy had died before Scott had been born so he had never got to meet his grandsons but Jeff knew he would have been proud of them.

"Yes it is and very effective too but I don't think we will need to go that far. Alan's temperature has come up by about a degree." Virgil had just taken his temperature again and had been relieved to see that slight rise.

"That's good right, it should only come up slowly about a degree an hour?" queried Gordon, trying to remember everything he had learnt about it whilst with WASP.

Virgil nodded and smiled at Gordon. He had shown the least interest in medicine but clearly remembered the important details about this.

Scott had also been impressed by his younger brother's knowledge. He certainly knew more then Scott did which had lead him to decide to brush up his skills on the subject once Alan was better.

Virgil replaced the bag of fluids with a fresh one and then turned back to his family. "Do we have any idea how Alan hit his head yet?" he asked, sinking down onto a nearby chair.

"Well after we left, John had a word with one of the rescue team and he had a theory on the matter. Apparently, that area has been hit with some bad storms lately causing a lot of damage to the trees. There have been a lot of cases of falling branches so that is the likely cause of Alan's head injury," explained Scott.

Gordon sat thinking for a moment and then a memory came into his head. "Now you mention it, I seem to recall a branch lying near Alan actually."

Jeff had been gazing down at his son through most of the conversation. He had been terrified when Scott had called him to say that Alan had been injured. That fear had intensified when he had seen just how ill his baby boy looked. Now though he could feel it receding slightly knowing that he was home and safe. They had a way to go yet before Alan would be recovered but he was on the mend. It was then Jeff noticed that his other sons were still in uniform. "Boys I think it's time you went and got changed. We can de-brief later on but I want you all to go and have something to eat," he said making sure his gaze rested on Virgil. His middle son needed to change and eat just as much.

Virgil had been about to object but seeing the look in his Father's eyes had stopped and instead replied, "Yes Father."

Jeff grinned back at his middle son and sat down beside Alan. The others all quietly left the room. Jeff looked down at his son and gently brushed the hair back off his face, his hand came to rest on a cold cheek. "Oh Alan," he said softly.

* * *

Scott awoke the following morning and dressed quickly so he could check on his baby brother. Last night Jeff had insisted that he and Gordon get some proper rest in case they were called out again. Arriving in the Sickbay, Scott couldn't help but smile at the sight before him. Jeff and Virgil both sat on either side of Alan and they were fast asleep. Virgil's head was resting on the bed beside Alan's arm and he was snoring gently whereas Jeff had his head tilted to the side. His hand was still holding Alan's. It was one of those moments that Gordon would love to have seen and filmed; making Scott glad, he wasn't awake yet.

As he moved closer, he was able to see the faint hint of colour in his baby brother's cheeks. It was a relief after the white colour from yesterday. Looking up at the monitors, he could see that his heart rate was better too. Virgil stirred and sat up, stretching his arms.

"Gotta stop sleeping like this," he muttered to himself.

Scott smiled down at his younger brother and then noticed the dark circles around his eyes. "How long have you been asleep?" he asked.

"What's the time now?" asked Virgil, standing up and checking over the various monitors.

Scott checked his watch before answering. "7am."

"About an hour then, I think," he replied as he placed the tip of a thermometer into Alan's ear. He could already see that some of the colour had returned to his youngest brother and he didn't feel as cold anymore either. The device beeped and he removed it to read the result.

Scott who had sat down in the chair he had vacated asked, "How is he?"

"A lot better actually. His temperature is still on the low side but its better then it was. The head injury is going to give him a headache for a few days but didn't do any lasting damage."

"Well it's hard to damage something that isn't there," called a voice from the door. Scott and Virgil turned to see Gordon standing there, his trademark cheeky grin plastered across his face.

"I think you're confusing Alan with yourself there Gordo," replied Scott, grinning at his younger brother.

Ignoring Scott, Gordon turned to Virgil. "So how is the patient, Doc?" he asked.

"He's going to be fine and should show signs of waking up soon. Will you please stop calling me Doc.?" Virgil knew it was a wasted request though. Gordon had been calling him that ever since he first showed an interest in medicine. As he glared at his younger brother he noticed the dark circles around his eyes too. It looked like none of them had much sleep last night. "Have trouble sleeping too?" he asked.

Gordon nodded but said nothing. His cheeky grin had been replaced with a deep frown now, as he remembered why he hadn't slept last night. Every time he had closed his eyes, he had seen Alan out in that forest soaking wet and frozen. Thinking about how cold his brother had been, sent an involuntary shiver through his body and he wasn't surprised when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder.

"You okay?" asked Virgil who had spotted the shiver as Gordon knew he would.

"Yeah just thinking about yesterday," he admitted. He walked over to the other side of the room and stared out of the window.

"Gords?" called Virgil and his younger brother turned round to look at him. "You're not blaming yourself for any of this are you?" he asked.

Though he was tempted to lie, Gordon replied honestly, "A little. I should have gone after that caver not him."

"You were busy with the other cavers; Alan was the only one who was available to go. It wasn't your fault," said Scott, walking over to him.

"Maybe but I could at least have grabbed my emergency pack. I made Alan walk all the way back to Thunderbird 2 without even a blanket to keep him warm. What sort of a brother would do that?" He had begun to pace across the room now, which was something, that Scott and Virgil did not him.

Virgil and Scott had both been momentarily stunned by his outburst but they soon recovered. Virgil moved so he stood in Gordon's way. "It wouldn't have made a difference if you had wrapped him in a blanket. He was already too cold and wet. The important thing is that you found him and got him back to us," he explained, placing his hands on Gordon's shoulders so he couldn't escape.

Scott then stepped over to them. "You did a better job then I would have done." Gordon looked up at him in surprise. "I'm serious Gordon. Your knowledge of Hypothermia was better then mine. You knew all the danger signs to look out for, I wouldn't have done. So stop beating yourself up and accept that you did a good job," continued Scott.

"Yes and any more talk about not being a good brother and I will ban you from the pool," added another voice and they all turned to see Jeff watching them.

That familiar cheeky grin appeared on Gordon's face as he looked over at his Dad. "I'm a bit too old to be grounded now Dad."

An almost matching grin appeared on Jeff's face. "Maybe but I can always drain the pool," he replied.

"You wouldn't," said Gordon, moving closer to his Dad.

Jeff stood up, still grinning. "Wanna bet?"

"Oh he would," said Scott.

Gordon could see that he wasn't joking and gave in. "Okay then, I'll stop." He then turned to Virgil and Scott. "Thanks."

"That's what we're here for," replied Scott, giving him a playful punch on the arm.

"That and an excellent source of amusement," replied Gordon. His grin now told them that they were in for some serious pranking later on.

A groan from the bed brought everyone's attention back to their fallen brother. They all moved quickly over to see groggy blue eyes looking up at them.

"How are you feeling, Son?" asked Jeff.

"Ouch," replied Alan, wincing as he looked around him.

"I can give you something to ease the pain, sprout," said Virgil, holding out a needle.

Alan nodded and winced again. Nodding your head when it hurt like this was a bad idea. Virgil injected something into his I.V line and then stepped back.

"The pain should start to ease off soon," he said and Alan gave him a weak thumbs up rather then risk nodding his head again.

The feeling of exhaustion began to overwhelm him and he knew he wouldn't be able to fight it long. It was such a relief though to feel dry and warmer now. He could still remember just how cold he had felt but as to how he had ended up like that well it was still a mystery. Something to think about later he thought as his eyes gave up the fight to stay open. He felt a hand brush the hair off his forehead and a gentle sigh came out of his mouth as he settled into a deep sleep.

* * *

The next couple of days passed uneventfully for the family and Alan was out of the Sickbay now. As a precaution, Jeff had kept him off rescues for a week to make sure he was fully recovered. Luckily, there had only been one so Alan hadn't been too bothered about being left behind.

Today Alan was sat by the pool watching Gordon swim laps, Virgil was sat at one of the nearby tables looking over some plans for Thunderbird 2 and Scott had gone with Brains to get John. The scientist had kindly offered to man Thunderbird 5 for a fortnight so that John could be with his family. Alan was really looking forward to spending time with John as it wasn't often he got the chance.

Hearing a familiar noise, he looked up to see the sight of Thunderbird 3 heading back to the Island. He always felt a rush whenever he saw the giant red rocket but he couldn't deny wishing that it was him flying her not his brothers.

He went back to watching Gordon who was still swimming up and down the pool. Alan would never understand how his brother could just swim like that for so long; maybe he really was part fish. A grin crossed his face at the thought.

"What's got you grinning?" asked Virgil, walking over to sit beside his brother.

"Our resident fish over there," he said gesturing to where Gordon was now just floating on the water.

"I always wondered if he was adopted or perhaps switched at birth," joked Virgil and Alan grinned at him.

Alan then saw the grin fade on his older brother's face and knew what the next thing out of his mouth would be so he responded quickly, "I'm fine, Virge.

Placing his hand to Alan's forehead he asked, "Are you sure?"

Alan pushed the hand away and stood up. "Yes I'm sure. I feel fine. Will you please stop fussing? I swear you are worse then Scott at times."

"That's not possible, little brother," said a voice and Alan turned to see John approaching. "No one can fuss more then Scott."

John walked over and gave his baby brother a tight hug before stepping back to look at him. "How are you?" he asked, keeping his hands on Alan's shoulders.

"I'm okay and it's good to see you," replied Alan, smiling at him.

"I see John doesn't get hassle for asking how are you," muttered Virgil moodily though it was clear he wasn't that offended by it.

Alan turned to face Virgil again. "Maybe because he hasn't asked me that every five minutes," he retorted.

"Sorry, bro but you did give us quite a scare," said Virgil, standing up. He knew their questioning had annoyed Alan but he couldn't help it. It was a big brother perogative.

"Yeah I know but can we ease it off a little now?" he begged. "Please?" he added with an innocent smile.

Scott who had just walked over to join them, grinned when he saw the smile on Alan's face. "Haven't seen that look in a while. What does he want?" he asked, turning to Virgil.

"That you two lay off the smothering," replied John.

Scott paused as if giving the question a lot of thought before answering. "I guess we can lay off a little."

"Thanks," said Alan as they all moved to take up a sun lounger around the pool. Gordon was still floating in the middle of pool, completely relaxed. On noticing all his brothers, he made his way to the edge of the pool and got out.

"Do you remember much about what happened?" asked John as Gordon walked over and joined them. He ducked away from Gordon's wet hand that was headed straight for his head. Gordon just flicked a little water at him and sat down beside Alan.

"I remember jogging through the woods looking for that missing caver. I stopped when I heard a noise and then realized just how much the wind was blowing the branches about. There was rather a lot of creaking and I remember hoping that none of them came down on the man I was looking for. The next thing I know, I'm on the floor and soaking wet. I'm guessing a branch got me," he explained and couldn't stop the slight shiver as he remembered how cold it had been.

Virgil fought back the urge to make sure Alan was okay after seeing him shiver and instead asked, "Do you remember anything that happened after that?"

"Not really. I have a couple of vague recollections of things like Gordon arriving and trying to walk back."

"Do you remember asking what Thunderbird 2 was?" asked Gordon with a faint grin.

Alan thought for a moment before shaking his head. Clearly, he had been more out of it then he realized. It was then Gordon remembered his promise to himself and his grin got bigger. The others all recognised this and a collective groan could be heard by them.

"What do you have planned Gordo?" asked Scott wearily. That look could only mean Gordon was going to prank one of them.

"Nothing I was just remembering something that's all. You know I think it's time I went and had a shower," he replied, standing up. He could see that his brothers were all worried about what he was up to. They had nothing to worry about though. He had just been remembering how relieved he was to see Thunderbird 2 and his promise not to say anything bad about it. If his brothers wanted to think it was something else then who was he to stop them. "See ya later," he said, grinning again.

The four brothers still seated all looked at each other and a unanimous decision was made. "Get him," yelled Scott and they all went after Gordon. Hearing the shout Gordon took off down the path to the beach.

Alan allowed his brothers to take the lead and slowed his pace to a stroll as he saw his Father come walking out. "Hey, Dad," he called.

"Hello, Son. What has Gordon done this time?" asked Jeff.

"Nothing yet, I don't think," replied Alan with a smile. It had always amazed him just how aware Jeff was of everything that went on around him. Even when he seemed to be buried in work, he always knew when Gordon was up to something.

"I see. Shall we find out if they have caught your brother yet then?" asked Jeff laying down the Data pad he had been looking at.

"Great idea," replied Alan. Father and Son then made their way down the path after the others. All was peaceful and happy once more on Tracy Island.

The End.

* * *

_**Well that's the end of my very first story. I hope you all enjoyed it. What started out, as a short story seemed to get long very quickly. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think. Just want to say a quick thanks to Little Miss Bump who was one of the first authors I spoke to on here. **_

_**Thanks for reading everyone. Love Angelsue-76.**_


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